God employs his people to encourage one
another. He did not say to an angel, “Gabriel, my servant Joshua is
about to lead my people into Canaan—go, encourage him.” God never works
needless miracles; if his purposes can be accomplished by ordinary
means, he will not use miraculous agency. Gabriel would not have been
half so well fitted for the work as Moses. A brother’s sympathy is more
precious than an angel’s embassy. The angel, swift of wing, had better
known the Master’s bidding than the people’s temper. An angel had never
experienced the hardness of the road, nor seen the fiery serpents, nor
had he led the stiff-necked multitude in the wilderness as Moses had
done. We should be glad that God usually works for man by man. It forms a
bond of brotherhood, and being mutually dependent on one another, we
are fused more completely into one family.
Brethren, take the text as
God’s message to you. Labour to help others, and especially strive to encourage
them. Talk cheerily to the young and anxious enquirer, lovingly try to
remove stumblingblocks out of his way. When you find a spark of grace in
the heart, kneel down and blow it into a flame. Leave the young
believer to discover the roughness of the road by degrees, but tell him
of the strength which dwells in God, of the sureness of the promise, and
of the charms of communion with Christ. Aim to comfort the sorrowful,
and to animate the desponding. Speak a word in season to him that is
weary, and encourage those who are fearful to go on their way with
gladness. God encourages you by his promises; Christ encourages you as
he points to the heaven he has won for you, and the spirit encourages you
as he works in you to will and to do of his own will and pleasure.
Imitate divine wisdom, and encourage others, according to the word of
this evening.
This devotion was taken from The Apostle's Bible app.
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